About Us

Established in 2000, ACOSVO is a unique forum for Chief Officers and Senior Managers in the third sector in Scotland, promoting excellence in leadership and management across the sector. We provide professional development opportunities through a range of services and activities to members across Scotland.

Our Vision

" ‘an increasingly successful third sector, in which its Chief Officers are inspired to maximize their impact "

Our aims are:

• To develop leadership capacity in the Scottish Third Sector
• To support and champion leaders in the Scottish Third sector in Scotland
• To develop and sustain ACOSVO as a high-quality, sustainable, well-governed organisation

Leadership in the Third Sector

The single most important determinant of the success of an organisation is the quality of its leadership. Voluntary sector leaders recognise the importance of good leadership. They also recognise the complexity of the environment in which they work. However, the challenges of time and cost can act as a barrier to participation in learning and sharing experiences and ideas with other leaders. ACOSVO will lead in identifying needs and bringing together a range of learning opportunities, resources and services for our members and other leaders in the sector.

Third Sector leaders’ contribution toward sustaining a strong, enterprising civil society is critical. It is important that their views are heard and taken into account in areas of policy and practice affecting the sector. We are supporting leaders in the third sector to make an influential contribution to strategy and policy which impacts on their organisations and beneficiaries.